French as a Second Language 3 Year Program of Study

Apps to fulfill requirements within the FSL Program of Study

Student Objective 1:

Understanding the use of Determiners in the French Language

Students studying within the 3 Year High School French as a Second Language Program of Study must be able to determine the differences and similarities between the following Determiners in the French Language: le, la, les, l'; un, une, des; mon, ma, mes, ton, ta, tes, notre, nos, votre, vos, lui, leur; etc. These words express the possession of nouns, for instance: votre table, translates to: your table. In French, all nouns are either masculine or feminine, thus they require a determiner (le/la/les for plural nouns). It is very important for students to understand in which context to use a determiner in order for the sentence structure to be correct.

App to use: Collins Easy Learning French

The Collins easy learning French Grammar & Practice App offers several quizzes on grammatical concepts in the French Language. It's a free app that allows users to take various quizzes to improve their understanding of topics such as pronoun, and verb use in a sentence.

Students could use this app to practice specific grammar exercises. Above in the "learning goal", it was mentioned that students must learn to differentiate between and use determiners in the French Language. Students could be asked to complete quizzes on this subject for extra practice. If students were having issues understanding the subject matter when it was discussed in class, they could use these quizzes as a refresher. Students could also do these quizzes as a part of class work, and this individual activity would help students improve their language accordance skills. For instance, there is a quiz on pronouns where students have to match words to the pronoun that would replace them. By doing that quiz (which students can do several times with new questions) they could understand the context in which the above determiners would need to be used and would be able to have a never ending supply of examples with which to practice.

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Student Objective 2:

Understand Simple Commands in Classroom Interactions

Students must be able to understand what kinds of things may be asked of them in the classroom in another language. These would include a teacher asking students to stand up, sit down; a student asking: if they have permission to go to the bathroom, close the door, exit the classroom, etc. As some of these simple commands are not as simplistic as other language being used in the class, it is better for students to memorize how to ask their question, but also have the flexibility to ask it to others.

App to Use: uTalk Canadian French

This French Language learning app has several uses, however it focuses on basic concepts in order to provide the learner with a more generalized vocabulary (as not to intimidate them). It focuses around concepts that you are "most likely to" come across in speaking with native French speakers.

Although this French language app has several uses that could greatly help students in the classroom, one of its coolest features is its ability to record and compare speaking voices to native French speakers. Students could record themselves saying classroom commands they have learned from their teacher and after hearing how their voice compares to a native speaker, they could adjust their pronunciation. In a classroom, often students get caught up with how their French teacher speaks and the ability to hear others speaking French (although from a recording) could greatly improve the pronunciation of their language skills. Students could also use this feature of the app to practice pronouncing words they have never heard read aloud before.

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Student Objective 3

Recognize that not all sentences/phrases can be translated into French

Translation between the two languages quickly becomes more difficult when students realize that they cannot entirely translate what they are thinking in English to what they want to say in French. Students then realize that the formation of sentence structure in the French language requires tedious practice of verb, noun, pronoun, and subject/object placement, and in order to improve one's French one must certainly practice repetitive exercises.

App to Use: Duolingo

Duolingo is a free application that works on building up French comprehension by several, repetitive, small lessons. It focuses around translating English to French and French to English, getting the user to practice this important task. By repeating activities (ie: Translate to English: J'ai un chien, Translate to French: I have a dog, Speak: J'ai un chien) the user becomes comfortable with using new vocabulary. There is also a Placement Test for advanced speakers so that they do not have to repeat the basics. The entire site works in a building-blocks manner where it builds on simple translation exercises to more complicated ones.

This app would be extremely helpful to students to practice their translation skills, and at the same time learn new vocabulary. I would definitely use this app in my classroom as I believe it would greatly improve FSL students' understanding of the language. There are so many quizzes and levels that the user can go through and I strongly believe (after using it myself for over an hour) that it would help any French speaker improve on several aspects of their language learning.

Learning Theories

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Program of Studies

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Student Objective 4

Have the ability to describe themselves, their families, and their friends in French

As the French speaker begins to have the ability to speak more fluently, they must be able to describe their own world in their new language. It is important that they learn to talk about themselves in French so that they can utilize the language fully and prove that they can translate their thoughts into French. Being able to describe yourself and others requires learning new vocabulary.

App to Use: Qui est-ce?

This app is incredibly interactive and asks students questions regarding the appearance of a character. It helps students learn new vocabulary that they can use to describe family and friends, and the appearances of people. Although it may not seem important to have knowledge about how to describe a person, it is a fundamental step in learning a new language.

By using this app, students would learn new vocabulary that would help them be able to describe people in their lives. It is set up in small rounds of questions where the app chooses a person and the student effectively has to guess which player the app has chosen (think the board game Guess Who? but in French). There are several different characters with different facial features that would ensure students were not only enjoying playing a game, but also learning new words. This app could be used in conjunction with a unit about people, and could be used in or out of class time to expand upon the teacher's lesson, and quiz the students about their level of comprehension in the subject.

Learning Theories

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Program of Studies

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Student Objective 5

Improve Vocabulary

It is quintessential for new language learners to constantly improve their vocabularies. By learning new words, students are better able to express themselves and their thoughts and ideas. It is important for students to have a breadth and diversity of vocabulary words, and to understand their English translation. Recognizing a word doesn't necessarily mean that someone understands a word, therefore, students often require the use of a dictionary and thesaurus to look up words they are unsure of, and to learn new synonyms and antonyms.

App to Use: Learn French Free with Accelastudy

This app has both a dictionary/thesaurus and new vocabulary modules. Although the app has many features, one of the most interesting is the way in which it introduces new vocabulary. As seen above, a new word is introduced along with its English counterpart so visual learners would find this way of introducing new verbs very helpful.

In the vocabulary modules, students see (check image above) both the English and French word so that they can associate these together. This app would help students have access to more vocabulary but also be able to check words they are unsure of using the dictionary. The reason why this app would be more functional (than just a simple French translation/dictionary app) is that it recommends vocabulary words to learn, and students also are given examples of verbs that could be used with the vocabulary. This app also allows you to track your progress and keep a list of vocabulary words. This app could easily be used during class time, or as an addition to material learned in class.

Learning Theories

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Program of Studies

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Student Objective 6

Learn about the Francophone World

It is important for students to not only learn to speak the French Language, but to learn about the world in which the language is spoken.

App to Use: Le Monde.fr

This app is a Francophone news app that focuses on news in the French World. The articles are written in French and are available online.

This app would be beneficial in the classroom as it would emerge students in articles written about the Francophone world. Further, it would test students' ability to read the French language and comprehend the subject matter of the articles. This app could be used during class time to do a French "Current Affairs" assignment, or used in addition to class material to engage students in affairs that affect the French world. This app would definitely enrich student vocabulary and be accessible to a wide ability-range of French language speakers.

Learning Theories

This App is more aligned with this Learning Theory because...

Program of Studies

This App matches this specific objective from the program of studies because it incorporates...